Mail-bag catcher.



E. F. SCHRAGE.

MAIL BAG CATCHER.

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E. F. S'CHRAGE.

MAIL BAG CATCHER. APPLICATION FILED MAY 5. 19Is.

1, 1 89,1876 Patented July 4, 1916.

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modified form of bag-gripper.

E11/[IIS FQ SGI-IRAGJI,Y 0F PALATINE, ILLINOIS.

MJAILBAG CATCHEB;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application-filed May, 1916. Serial No. 95,660.

To all ywhom t may concern Be it known that 1, EMIL F. SCHRAGE, a citizen of the United States, resid-ing at Palatine, in the county of (look and State of Illinois, have invented certain' new-and useful Improvements in Mail-Bag Catchers, of which the following .is a specification.

My present invention relates to improvements in mail bag catchers and its object is to provide a device to be located on the inner side of a car near the door opening and which carries baggripping-means partly projected through the door opening to grip a suspended mail bag without injury to the bag or its contents and to retain the same until it is swung into the car when it will either be droppedto the floor of the car, or it may be manually removed from the gripping device and disposed of as desired.

With the foregoing and other objects in view the invention consists in the combina tion and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter fully described in this specification, pointed out in the appended claims, and

fully illustrated in the accompanying drawi ings which form a part of the specification and in which- Figure 1 is a top plan view of my mail bag catcher showing its application. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view of a car showing, in dotted lines the application of my improved device, the bag-gripping means being shown, in full lines, projected thro-ugh the door opening. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the form of bracket employed. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the retainer for the baggripping means. Fig. 5 is a plan view of a Fig. 6 is a section taken on line 6 6 of Fig. 5.

Like reference characters denote corresponding parts throughout the several views.

The reference numeral 1 denotes a bracket, secured to the wall 2 of a car adjacent the door opening, said bracket being substantially U-shaped and having lianges 3 whereby it is secured directly to the car and formed, in its body portion, with an arcuate slot at and with a perforation 5. Vithin the bracket 1 and secured to the wall of the car by its flanged base 6 is a ball and socket member 7, the socket portion of which is formed with a perforation 8 to admit the point of a spring-pressed pin 9 which extends through the aperture 5 in the bracket, the tendency of the spring 10 of pin 9 being to force the pin inwardly with relation to thev bracket. Normally the inner end of the pin 9 rests against the ball portion of the ball and socket member and acts as a friction lock to retain the same yieldingly vin adjusted position. The ball portion of the member is formed with a tubular extension 11 which serves as a retainer for one end of a bent or coiled resilient arm 12 the free en'd of which projects through the door opening in the car and then is bent as at 13 and disposed in a plane parallel with the plane of the side of the car and positioned in alinement with the rings 11 that support the mail bag or pouch 15 from a suitable crane r frame a standard height above the ground.

Referring to Figs. 5 and 6 a modified form of bag-grip is shown. The resilient arm 12 carries a casting 16 bolted to a chair neled horseshoe-frame 17 which, near its free ends, carries pivots 18 whereon the curved arms 19'are arranged that extend toward the closed end of the frame 17 and meet at a point substantially midway between its sides and are yieldingly retained in mutual engagement by means of the springs 20 secured to the said frame. The frame 17 is disposed outside the car'and in passing the suspended mail sacks grips the same in their mid-section, the arms 19 being forced away froln eachother by contact with the Sack which is forced into the frame and carried thereby. Impact of the frame 17 or arm 12 with the sack will cause the arm to ride against the end of slot 4 fromV which it will rebound through that slot into approximately the position Shown dotted in Fig. 1 thus lifting the mail bag inside the car and permitting access thereto by the persons within the car. The movement of the said arm 12 is, of course, against the resistance offered by the spring-pressed pin 9 `Patented J uly4", 191

upon the ball portion of the ball and socket member. From the foregoing it is V'clearly seen that I have designed a simple and prac-4 tical mail bag catcher that is reliable and etlicient in operation. I wish it understood that I reserve the right to make all changes in the form, proportion, and det-ail of construction and organization of parts which ballportion of said ball and socket member and projected through the said arcuate slot, flexible mailbag-gripping means carried by said tubular extension and means carried by Said bracket engaging the ball portion of said ball and socket member whereby relative movement ol said ball member is yieldingly obviated.

2. In a mail bag catcher, a U-shaped bracket formed with an arcuate slot, a ball and socket member arranged Within Said bracket,k a tubular exteneion carried by the ball-portion of said ball and Socket member and projected through the said arcuate slot,

resilient mailbag-gripping means carried by said tubular extension and a springpressed pin carried by said bracket and yieldingly engaging the ball-portion of said ball and socket member for yieldingly retaining the same in adjusted position.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two Subscribing Witnesses.

EMIL F. SCHRAGE. lVitnesSes HERMAN F. SCHRAGE, FRED. SGHRAGE.

Gepies of this patent may be obtained for five cents cach, by addressing the Commissioner af Patenti, Washington, I). C." 

